I still think RA can take us far, 55 wins and 22 in a row with all we had to go through last year was quite an accomplishment, I think we need to remain patient
And i'm sure he would say yes in a heartbeat. I'm kind of done with Adelman and Tmac. "Disapointed" is probably the best word to describe how I feel about Tracy. The Rockets organization have done everything to get him the pieces to win a ring, and he just lets down on everyone. Its disapointing, but its also a great disrespect. You can see guys like Yao are trying, and then you see guys who just sit out the game because they don't feel emotionally correct. Thats a disrespect to the game, to the organization and mostly to the fans. -1 for Tmac
Agree with all of this...and I also was suspect of putting the most dominant low post player in the NBA in the high post, for this perceived "save on the wear and tear".... 1.5 years and a stress fracture later, Yao is huffing and puffing playing 46 minutes in a regular season 2-OT game, becoming virtually useless at the end. I didn't post this as a "bring back JVG" thread.... just a "why did we go with RA, when he's not going to bring anything new to the table, and even less defensively." I have no doubt they can win a boat-load of games, and go far in the playoffs, if they commit to Yao in the low post, have Tracy come back relatively healthy (and recommit to the Yao-Tracy pick and roll), and up the defensive intensity. Is any of the above really RA's strengths? No... but he does have the capability to get it done.
Agreed entirely...I didn't mean my response to be a "bring back JVG" response, either, just to be clear. Not gonna happen. But the Yao high post stuff still frustrates me...basketball can be a really simple game when your 7'6" player has coordination like ours does. This offense overthinks that for a guy like him..and misses the point entirely in doing so.
our offense is way better than the non creative JVG offense and that will help in the playoffs if we are full strength. Last night if it went to 3OT I did want coach A to put in Brooks to outrun all the tired legs and get us the win. in the future I would love to see Brooks do that since that his his biggest strength in the league.
This annoys me every time I hear it. What has RA significantly added to the offense in 2 years that they couldn't do before under JVG? Its virtually the exact same setup... in fact even more simplified at times now that we hardly run much pick and roll. I've seen enough sets where Rafer or Brooks dribbles the ball incessantly while NOTHING develops with all the attempted cutting/back screens, only to have them force up a 3 pointer as the shot clock dwindles down. As far as beating the Yao fronting offense... the Rockets had little problem with that during the Yao broken leg season (JVG's last season, and Yao's most effcient basketball ever)... mostly due to Yao's increased strength and stamina. Now, while he is lighter, I do see Yao getting pushed further and further away from the basket.... which I feel is actually a more effective way of defending him than fronting (which gives us a wide open 3 every time). They also actually ran the court better in the days of Sura, J. Barry, and Wesley... but that team also featured the healthiest and most athletic T-mac we've ever had.
Blame LA for RA If Les Alexander wanted to fit a round peg into a square hole and turn the slowest most unathletic starting 5 with a 7'6 often injured center into the run & gun Phoenix Suns, the GM and everyone else had no choice but to comply. Were the Rockets really gonna go with Tom Thibodeaux or someone like him after they let go JVG , on a team with win-now championship aspirations? I think not. Interesting enough, generally accepted opinion is the 2nd team runs the motion offense better than the first team. At least someone's learning from the coach. It takes a little stability to build, like in anything. Or like the OP suggests, some continuity on what you have. McGrady and Yao with their injuries have taken away from that. Yao has played what amounts to 1 full season for Adelman. I myself have said though...give Van Gundy the same talent Morey brought in for Adelman and its a guaranteed improved team. The foundation was already in place and they'da finally added better pieces than Derek Anderson, Stromile Swift, & Chuck Hayes to it. For all his drama and flakiness, I thought Larry Brown was the right coach after JVG.
if we still had JVG we'd use Yao 40 mins a game. he'd set picks every play and receive the ball down low. he'd tire every game and probably get injured by midseason.
Huh? Yao's minutes were less under JVG, and his effeciency was way more. Yao didn't waste time in the high post, and still got the ball in great position to score every time (not now, where he gets the ball further out, and is either forced to bull his way in, or kick it out and re-post). He also missed less games under JVG... minus the freak-broken leg injury. The stress fracture suffered last year echoed what JVG was saying when he wanted to limit Yao to 35-38 minutes in the regular season.
Rick's a good guy, has good ideas and schemes, but he lacks the strong will to get everyone on board. Everyone mostly being 1 player in particular. Teams almost always flip flop after coaches. Rudy became a doormat to the Steve & Cat show, so we bring in JVG and his whip, after JVG in comes soft spoken Rick. Unfortunately, this is a team that is utterly devoid of leadership. We need one, either on the roster or as the coach. That or move that 1 player for a lesser player that doesn't need a fire constantly kept under him. Evan
Dead on! The scary thing is that Artest is the only guy capable of filling the leadership void because Tracy, Yao and Adelman are incapable.
Forget that crap...I was going crazy too when h went to yao 1000 times and it wasnt apprent that yao was getting shut down and double teammed. He was tired and thats when you need to pass is somewhere else. If artest wasn't hitting, ( he was) I believe we should have let brooks go postal, and do what he wanted to. Luckily it didnt have to come to that. I believe brooks can score as easily as ANYONE on this team at will. Not saying that he is more important or anything, but I believe he can get his shot anytime at a high percentage. The kid has unlimited range
Minutes... you want him to play less minutes and give our PFs, Center minutes?? This isn't Rick's fault. Tell that to Les and Morey. Tell them to hurry up and sign a quality center. And you know who else is for blame? You know how Yao goes to the bench... our offense just plain sucks. Blame our other 2 for not being consistent. Don't get me started with Tracy and his laziness. (And how he doesn't do crap off the ball) I love Artest. He is the only one that has balls in our team. But... his free throw shooting and his easy layups that he miss kills me. Yao isn't wasting time in the high post. It is part of the double screen play where he rolls down, then goes to the other side for the position. Give Rick some time. Why did Jeff look like a great coach at times? Because he had complete control over decisions. New York Knicks players coming to us. Old veteran coming to us. Do you not remember this? Rod Strickland? Charles Oakley? If Rick had the same amount of control... we'd have Rip Hamilton/Prince and Sheed instead of a 20+ million dollar cheerleader.
Or he'd trade Yao for a big man that would fit his schemes. Glad you also left out JVG trading for T-mac and signing Mutombo... that "former Knick" as well . Oh wait... the good moves were made by somebody else, and the bad moves were all made by JVG... got it. And, its not like we had that many options. We had freaking Clarence Weatherspoon starting playoff games for us. We thought Stromile Swift would allofasudden become a somebody. We thought Padgett and Bowen were the missing links to Larry Bird. As far as Yao's minutes are concerned... its not so much that I'm concerned about his big minutes (which is still worrisome after last year's injury) as much as I'm concerned with how he's used when he's actually in the game. The game plan ignores him in stretches, and has him basically as a large decoy. Then, when he does get it, he's not always in the best position to score (which is the one thing he can do that's above average out there...). Thus, I want him to be more effecient. Score more in less minutes. Be more of a focal point while he's still fresh (ie - the beginning of halves, and to close out games after some rest in the 2nd and 4th quarters).
Rick would trade Yao for a big man that fits his style? I'm sorry, but there is no more passing big men in the league anymore. And weren't there people that hated Rick for using Yao every single time? I think Rick likes Yao and trust him enough to go to him. Trading for Tracy... I'm not going to say anything about it because so far it made no difference in our success in the playoffs. Blowing 2-0 leads in a series, one with homecourt. Jeff had Tracy and Yao in their prime. Do you know why you don't see the dominant pick and roll? Because it can't be executed with Tracy's aging and Yao's feet getting slower. Bonzi is a prime example. He doesn't contribute at all for Jeff. Rick comes in, and he contribues. Contributes enough that he gets traded for Bobby which in returned turn into Artest. I don't see you praising Rick for at least giving players chances. And don't get me started with the Draft pickings. We traded Gay for Battier. Sure... the best move for the Win Now... but in reality, Jeff just wasted our future for another 1st round failure to ... Utah. His selfish move to win a careless game (Denver...) that cost us Brandon Roy. For what? A win that only made J. Howard and Jeff happy. Of course, you and I both want Yao to be more efficient. But then again, we are a team that NEEDS Yao on the court as much as he can, especially with McGrady just sitting out. I wish we had Mutombo so we are a better defensive team when Yao goes down and it'd give Yao some rest. But... blame Les and his cheap antics.
The Rockets are 20-11. They have played 18 road games, second most in the conference. They are 20-11. They have had 9 back-to-back games already. By contrast, the Hornets, Nuggets and Spurs have played 6 back-to-back games. The Jazz and Trailblazers have had 7. The Lakers have only had 5 back-to-back games this year. The Rockets are still 20-11. When the schedule balances out the Rockets will be fine. Finally, the Rockets are still playing well despite dealing with a bunch of injuries. Adelman's offense is fine. You can't run his system completely with Yao Ming, and why would you? He's the best post player on the planet. The bottom line is that when Yao is on the court, the Rockets usually win. When Adelman coaches, his teams usually win, too. Stop spazzing out, people.
I don't think there is a better coach for this team right now, with a lazy/inconsistent TMac, and a hobbling Artest. Plus, we get either TMac or Artest, but not both every night, and we still have a 20-11 win record.
Honestly...would any other current coach really do worse with this bunch? Aside from D'antoni (who would probably make Yao a 3 point shooter), what NBA coach couldn't win with this current bunch? They've got talent at every position, and a decent enough bench. They still lack a killer instinct and they sometimes lose focus on defense... both of which are extremely coachable (and aren't all that stressed by Adelman). Finally, has there been a game this year where the Rockets probably should not have won... but ended up winning? The closest is on the road against Orlando, but even then that was before Orlando hit its current stride.
